New York State panel approves framework to expand cannabis market to Big Weed

A New York State panel on Tuesday authorized an expansive framework to open the state’s so-far limited legal retail cannabis market to the general public and large sellers, delivering a regulatory win to Big Weed and dealing a blow to smaller cannabis sellers hoping to break into the market.

Permitting to the general public is scheduled to open Oct. 4.

The move by the state Cannabis Control Board is set to expand the retail market to so-called medically registered organizations, which are large marijuana manufacturers.

Under the regulations package, large medical firms that commit $20 million to secure a license could open shops in New York before the end of year, and licensing costs for smaller equity-focused applicants would be reduced.

Limiting the entry of Big Weed into the market is key to allowing burgeoning businesses a chance to break in, according to activists.

But the sluggish pace of the state’s legal pot expansion has allowed a bustling and unlicensed retail market to crop up, and major sellers say they can help weed out the illicit sellers and create revenue for the state. So far, fewer than 30 legal cannabis retailers have opened statewide.

The state faced added pressure to approve the regulations after an upstate judge paused the opening of a smattering of sellers last month. The state has so far prioritized retail license applicants for people who were affected by the drug wars.

“The rules passed today are a small step forward,” said Rev. Kirsten John Foy, who represents the Coalition for Access to Regulated and Safe Cannabis, in a statement. “But until the State rapidly increases the number of licensed dispensaries – including by opening the dispensary application process to everyone immediately and fairly, as the law requires, New Yorkers will continue to be denied the tax revenue, safe cannabis, and equitable system they were promised.”

Though some praised the passage of the new rules, critics of the regulations lined up at the Cannabis Control Board meeting in Albany on Tuesday to ridicule the regulations, which they said were approved with limited public feedback and would hamper small sellers.

Many called on the board to extend a program limiting licenses to justice-oriented dispensaries, called conditional adult-use retail dispensaries, or CAURDs, which have received the first crack at receiving permits.

“Please codify the CAURD program,” Colleen Hughes, who represents CAURD clients and applicants, told the control board. “The ROs have not and will not do their part for the community, or small businesses, without a third-party framework.”

Currently, the legal market is limited to a smattering of some 460 licensees which have opened 17 storefronts and six delivery businesses across the state.

In July, the control board issued more than 100 new licenses to applicants seeking to legally open and run pot shops in the city. The state Legislature legalized recreational cannabis use for anyone 21 or over more than two years ago, and the state issued the first 36 permits last November.

Also Tuesday, the chief of staff at the state Office of Cannabis Management, Axel Bernabe, stepped down from his role. He did not immediately reply to questions about his resignation.